The Word of God, What Is It?
The Word of God, what is it?—The long arm of His love reaching down and out into the wilderness of sin to guide back into the light of life every lost soul that is willing to be led; it is the light of God shining down into the night of sin that the sleepers there may be awakened and flee before the thunderbolts of God's judgments are let loose upon the world; it is the key to the storehouse of the eternal riches—the key that will open to man the gate which sin had locked against him, the gate to the garden of God. Many voices are heard in these days calling for church unity. We often hear of meetings of preachers and other leaders in various denominations, both Protestant and Catholic, to discuss ways and means by which they can come closer together. It is said that we want to smother these differences that have separated us, and unite on certain things upon which we all agree. Such sentiments should be strongly commended in so far as they express the real longing of the heart that is seeking to come into harmony with God. But since we can not know men's hearts, we must watch the results of these efforts to see what fruit they bear. If the work results in uniting individual hearts in the bonds of true Christian fellowship, the more of it we can have the better. But if in the place of true Christian union it results merely in a confederacy, we should be on guard against it. For the Word of God has warned against confederacies that shall be formed in these last days. It has bidden us, “Say ye not, A confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, A confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid. Sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself; and let Him be your fear, and let Him be your dread.” Then we should conclude that every true effort and sentiment for real union should be encouraged, for such sentiments are right because they come from Christ, the Master. But anything that has the marks of a confederacy should be carefully avoided, because it comes from the source of all evil. Men may confederate together to carry out some common interest that pertains wholly to the things of this world; and such a federation may be not only harmless but beneficial. But God, being all-powerful, is not in need of any confederation, and has declared Himself against it in the words already quoted. Nothing short of absolute unity will answer the purposes of God and His work. And a confederacy can never be a perfect union.